Camdenton residents living on private roads may soon get a helping hand getting their streets up to standard for acceptance by the city.

What's the problem

Last year, residents of Clint Ave. publicly reported frustration with city leaders over the poor shape of the street. Massive potholes and spreading asphalt marred the short street of the cul-de-sac neighborhood then, and conditions have only gotten worse since last April. Homeowners on the private road located within the Camdenton city limits have asked the board of aldermen for help, but city policy requires streets to meet certain requirements before dedication and taking over maintenance. By city policy, developers must wait a year after hard surfacing a street before they can petition the city for acceptance of the new road. At the time of a petition, the city public works director inspects the road to make sure it meets city codes. Clint Ave. has never made it that far. The roadway was paved approximately three years but did not make it through the first winter before beginning to break up with potholes, according to residents Mick and Judy Carlson. Large dips also formed across the roadway after the asphalt pushed out to the sides.

What's new

According to new City Administrator Jeff Hancock, a subcommittee of the board of aldermen recently made headway on developing a new policy to address the situation on Clint Ave. as well as similar issues at other locations in Camdenton. The draft of the proposed policy has not yet been finalized, but Hancock anticipates that it will outline the city's procedure in these cases as well as the property owners' responsibilities. The committee also discussed plans and related funding issues for the individual sites, including the drainage problem that affects Clint Ave. Details of the plans are not yet available.

What's next

After the meeting of the committee about a week ago, Hancock said he was optimistic that the city will soon have a new policy on the private road issues, indicating the proposed policy with related funding plans would likely come before the full board of aldermen by its June 17 meeting if not sooner. If the policy is approved, said Hancock, city officials will then want to meet with affected property owners to make sure they are aware of the new procedure available to them. It will then be up to the property owners whether they want to pursue that route.